Hanger

ABSTRACT

A hanger having spring-loaded means for gripping the inner waistband of trousers and a projecting arm for receiving folded trouser legs particularly for bedside use, inside the waistband to keep the pants smooth, permit wrinkles to fall out, and prevent the pockets from emptying; at the same time permitting the leg portions to be folded over the arm in order to present a very short profile, such that they can be hung along one&#39;&#39;s bedstand.

United States Patent Rhindress 1 1 Feb. 22, I972 154] HANGER FOREIGN PATENTS 0R APPLICATIONS 731,045 6/1955 England ..223/95 n n alt nd wu. 62 North Harbor 1,007,058 10/1965 England ..223/9s Drive, Ocean Ridge, Fla. 33444 Primary Examiner1ordan Franklin [22] led: 1969 Assistant Examiner-George H. Krizmanich [21 Appl, No.: 874,099

2,576,089 11/1951 Ehmke....

AttorneyRichard F. Benway [57] ABSTRACT A hanger having spring-loaded means for gripping the inner waistband of trousers and a projecting arm for reeeiving folded trouser legs particularly for bedside use. inside the waistband to keep the pants smooth, permit wrinkles lo fall out, and prevent the pockets from emptying; at the same time permitting the leg portions to be folded over the arm in order to present a very short profile, such that they can be hung along ones bedstand.

4 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures PATENTEUFEBZZ I972 3.643.841

WALTER H. RHINDRESS WFW ATTORNEY HANGER There have been many advances as to how a garment hanger could be made. Garment hangers are a very common item in everyones household. The various styles which most households have, however are limited to hanging clothes and placing them in a closet. The present invention is directed to a hanger which although useful for hanging skirts and pants in a closet, it can be utilized next to ones bed. It is therefore quite unique in this respect.

Conventional hangers when a garment is placed on it, particularly a pair of pants, presents a long profile. If placed within the closet no problem is encountered. However, if they are placed next to ones bed having the hood of the hanger pass through or over a bureau edge, night stand or similar item of furniture the trouser legs would touch the floor. Alternatively if they were placed through a conventional hanger the pockets would have to be emptied so that the trousers would not slide off of it and/or also spill their contents on the floor.

The present invention provides a hanger particularly useful for pants although also useful for other garments such as skirts, ski pants and certain other trousers which have no cuff. The present invention is directed to a pants hanger which supports the pants at two points, at the waistband and at the trouser leg, thereby providing a very short profile, preventing trouser pockets from emptying out, and the trouser legs from dragging along the floor.

Reviewing the prior art we find that pants hangers consist merely as a bar. The pants are folded and placed such that the trousers equally balance over both sides of the bar. However, if something is left in the pockets they empty out and if too much weight is left in the pockets the pants will slide off the hanger. Another hanger provides hooks which hook under the cuffs of trousers but many pants do not have cuffs, such as ski pants and modern styles. Again we have a problem with this hanger in that the pockets empty out and present a very long profile which cannot readily be hung along ones bedside. Several advances in hangers have been made which prevented pockets from emptying out, that is the pants are hung upright. Many styles do not have belt stays to hook onto and again this hanger will present a long profile making it useless along ones bedside.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a bedside pants hanger.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a lowprofile pants hanger.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a pants hanger which will not cause the pockets to empty.

The many objects, features and advantages of the present invention will be better understood from the following detailed specification when read in connection with the attached drawings of which:

FIG. I are trousers supported by the present invention.

FIG. 2 is one means ofsupport in the hanger.

FIG. 3 is a frictional component for waistband adjustment.

FIG. 4 is a top view of FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 an alternate support for the hanger shown in FIG. 2.

FIG. 6 an alternative method to that shown in FIG. 3.

Referring to FIG. 1, we see trousers 13 supported by hanger [6. The end 19 is pressed against the waistband of the trousers and springloaded end II is also pressed against the other end of the waistband. The trousers have had their waistband fastened at least by the upper clip or button before they are placed on the hanger. Bar 21 which extends out the side permits the trousers to be folded and hung over this end providing the low profile necessary for bedside use. The hook I5 can be turned so that the trousers can be hung over the bedside.

After one has removed his trousers in the evening he clips the waistband just above the fly and could even zip them up. He then inserts one end of the hanger 19 within the waistband, compresses spring II and slides it in until it is approximately lined up such that the hanger is parallel to the waistband and then releases the spring providing a tight hold by the hanger. The trousers are smoothed out, the trouser legs folded and slid over the bar 21 permitting the hanger to be hung up. They can be placed in the closet; however more importantly they can be hung along side a chair, or bureau or night stand. The pockets of course would not have to be emptied for they could not spill their contents because the pants always remain upright. When one wants to remove the trousers again the trouser legs are slid off of the rod 21 and spring 11 is compressed sliding out the hanger.

Referring to FIG. 2 we see spring 11 about a slidable rod 33 having a rubber tip 34 and an expanded end 32 which prevents the rod from coming out of stop 38. This unit 35 is installed within the tube portion 16 at one end. The spring is installed around the plungerlike rod 33 and has stops at 34 and 38 therefore the rod 33 is free to slider under spring tension and when released will provide the necessary spring bias to support trousers. The whole unit 35 is supported firmly in the tube 16 by a pin 39.

Referring to FIG. 3 we see the other end of the tubular hanger 16. Here a wire having end portions 18 and I9 is inserted within the tube and bent to form a "V" shaped 50, the tube is then deformed at point 26 tightly about the wire providing a barrier such that the wires can not be pulled out beyond this point. These wires are oneeighth inch solid steel wire while the tube portion I6 is one-half inch outside diameter aluminum. The spring steel portions, I8 and [9 are biased apart by its V" shape and the deformed tube wall. Therefore. they can be pushed into tube 16 an remain the because of their frictional contact between the wire and the deformed walls of tube 16. Any changes in weight of the trousers can be accommodated by merely pulling in or pushing out the wire portion 18 and I9. Sufficient friction is automatically provided between tube I6 and the wires to prevent them from in or out while the pants are on the hanger. The wires must be deliberately moved by the user to affect a change in the size of the hanger by pushing or pulling the wires in or out to either decrease the size or increase the size of the hanger respectively.

Referring to FIG. 4 we see a top view of FIG. 3 and again tube I6 is shown tightly fitted about the steel wires 18 and 19 as deformed on both sides 27.

Referring now to FIG. 5 we have an alternative method of attaching the hanger to one s trousers over that shown in FIG. 2. Here rubber tip 34 is used again, however the tubular hanger 16 has a knee 42 and a small section 43 is free to pivot above the knee 42 as opposed to the spring portion of FIG. 2. The hanger is then inserted in the usual way, however as opposed to compressing the spring in the exampled shown in FIG. 2 the knee is kept bent until the rubber tip is placed in the proper position under the waistband and then the hook I5 is pulled up such that the rod 16 tends to straighten out causing the necessary tension to hold the trousers permanently onto the hanger. The knee mechanism is as effective as the spring mechanism which is a well known scheme found readily in the prior art.

Referring to FIG. 6 we note another scheme for holding the wire portion 18 and 19in place. We note that the hanger tube I6 has its hanger hook is installed by means of passing it through a hole 46 and alfixed to nut 41. The hook 15 can be removed by loosening nut 41 and then can be placed in another hole 47 and so on. Wire 40 shown dotted within the tube and is identical to the end portion of that described above as I8 and 19. Here however, the wire is prevented for sliding into the hanger tube 16 by means of the hook 15. This will ac commodate the changes in waist of trousers. A small waist trousers for instances 30 inches would have the hanger in position 46 and a large waist trousers would have it in one of the other positions. Waist 36 would require 15 to be placed in hole 47.

This latter method will provide the necessary additional length of the hanger and will also provide centering of the hook I5 such that the trousers will be balanced equally above the center point of the hanger. However this center is not critical for the inventor has discovered that the weight distribution of a pair of trousers about this point due to different waists is not that great for most individuals Nevertheless holes can provide the necessary weight distribution. With the wires slid ing in or out. frictional contact is provided as described in FIGS. 3 and 4 providing all of the necessary adjustments for various waist sizes much more quickly and inexpensively.

in order to provide a certain measure of safety. the rough portion or corners of the wires l9 and 18 that is, should be dipped in a plastic material which will provide a smooth surface to touch covering any burrs which may appear on the edges and will provide more frictional contact for wire ends 18 and 19 at the trouser waistband Many substitutions and variations can be made to the above described invention without departing from its true scope and spirit by those skilled in the art; therefore, I wish to be limited by the appended claims only.

I claim:

I. A hanger comprising,

a tube,

a rotatable hook passing through the center of said tube for hanging the tube over an article of furniture,

a bent steel wire having a "V bend slidably inserted within one end of said tube with the ends of said wire extended therefrom,

one projecting end of said wire bent in a U" shape for frictionally gripping the inside of trouser waistbands,

the second projecting end of said wire bent to form a second "U" shape, whereby said projecting end extends alongside the tube, is substantially equal in length to the tube and lies in the same horizontal plane, a preselected distance from the tube for receiving folded pant legs of trousers whereby a low profile of the trousers hung on said hanger is presented,

said tube being deformed about said inserted wire whereby frictional cooperation between said wire and said inner tube surface permits the wire to be pulled in or out and held wherever it is last positioned.

tension means attached to the other end of said tube from where said bent steel wire is inserted whereby the hanger will hold trousers or skirts by pressing said tension means at one end of said tube against the inside waistband of the garment at one end and the bent steel wire at the other end of the tube against the opposite inside end of said waistband.

2. A hanger according to claim I which further includes a plastic coating over the projecting ends of said steel wire for frictional contact with a trouser waistband.

3 A hanger according to claim 2 wherein said tension means includes a compressible spring loaded shaft within one end ofsaid tube.

4. A hanger according to claim 2 wherein said tension means include a movable section which provides a knee action when said hanger is inserted in a waistband and straightens up thereby holding trousers on the hanger.

e itis s 

1. A hanger comprising, a tube, a rotatable hook passing through the center of said tube for hanging the tube over an article of furniture, a bent steel wire having a ''''V'''' bend slidably inserted within one end of said tube with the ends of said wire extended therefrom, one projecting end of said wire bent in a ''''U'''' shape for frictionally gripping the inside of trouser waistbands, the second projecting end of said wire bent to form a second ''''U'''' shape, whereby said projecting end extends alongside the tube, is substantially equal in length to the tube and lies in the same horizontal plane, a preselected distance from the tube for receiving folded pant legs of trousers whereby a low profile of the trousers hung on said hanger is presented, said tube being deformed about said inserted wire whereby frictional cooperation between said wire and said inner tube surface permits the wire to be pulled in or out and held wherever it is last positioned, tension means attached to the other end of said tube from where said bent steel wire is inserted whereby the hanger will hold trousers or skirts by pressing said tension means at one end of said tube against the inside waistband of the garment at one end and the bent steel wire at the other end of the tube against the opposite inside end of said waistband.
 2. A hanger according to claim 1 which further includes a plastic coating over the projecting ends of said steel wire for frictional contact with a trouser waistband.
 3. A hanger according to claim 2 wherein said tension means includes a compressible spring loaded shaft within one end of said tube.
 4. A hanger according to claim 2 wherein said tension means include a movable section which provides a knee action when said hanger is inserted in a waistband and straightens up thereby holding trousers on the hanger. 